Instructional Technology has developed Course Design Review Standards (CDRS) to be used in the development of online and blended courses at St. Edward’s University. These standards are based on best practices in course design and rubrics developed by the Online Learning Consortium and the Open SUNY Course Quality Review. View the complete Course Design Review Standards.
This page covers standards 1 through 10 which deal with course design and layout. Links to all 39 standards are listed at the bottom of the page.
Design and Layout
Standard 1: Course includes Welcome and Getting Started content which provides an overview of the course.
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 1.
Standard 2: Each content module (e.g. Week or Unit) contains an overview page so students know how to navigate and what tasks are due.
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 2.
Standard 3: Syllabus is easily found and a printable version is available.
Syllabus is easily found in the course and uses program’s syllabus template. A PDF or Word version of the syllabus is available for downloads/printing. This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 3 and Standard 4.
Standard 4: Course includes links to relevant campus policies on plagiarism, computer use, student grievances, accommodating disabilities, etc.
May be met by inclusion in Syllabus or separate Policies page. This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 5.
Standard 5: Course provides access to campus resources (technical help, academic support services, library resources).
May be met by inclusion in Syllabus, Getting Started or Course Menu. This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 6.
Standard 6: Course information clearly states all formats of course activities (online, in-class, virtual, lab, internship, etc.)
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 7.
Standard 7: Course includes clear instructions on the use of various devices and technical requirements for accessing and participating in the course are communicated. (mobile, publisher websites, secure content, browser issues, microphone, webcam).
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 8.
Standard 8: Course provides contact information for instructor, department and/or program.
Included in Syllabus with instructor contact information or in the Getting Started Module. This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard 10.
Standard 9: A logical, consistent, and uncluttered layout is established. The course is easy to navigate (consistent color scheme and icon layout, related content organized together with self-evident titles). Where appropriate, department/School templates are used.
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard16.
Standard 10: Unused Canvas items are removed from the course menu.
This standard is based on the Open Suny Course Quality Review Rubric Standard16.
The complete list of CDRS with annotations may be found on these pages:
Resources:
Open SUNY Course Quality Rubric, Open SUNY Center for Online Teaching Excellence and the Online Learning Consortium, Inc.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)